Kerry losing out in overall Garda recruit allocations – Brassil

Fianna Fáil TD for Kerry John Brassil says new figures from the Department of Justice reveal that Kerry is not getting its fair share of Garda resources. The stats – which outline what divisions recently qualified Gardaí were allocated to – show that over the past four years only 41 Gardaí have been assigned to Kerry.

Deputy Brassil explained, “I have been warning for some time that we need to see serious investment in Garda resources in Kerry. Under Fine Gael, we have seen the closure of a number of Garda stations, with the promise of “smart” policing – something which has yet to materialise. Communities across Kerry – particularly in rural areas – are genuinely worried about the lack of Garda resources in their area.

“Local people feel the lack of Garda visibility is affording criminals a greater opportunity to carry out crime sprees.

“The figures released to Fianna Fáil, while unsurprising, make for worrying reading. Only 41 new Garda recruits have been assigned to the Kerry division since 2015 – out of a total of 2,361. That’s less than 2%. Given the fact that over 3% of the population live in Kerry, the number of Gardaí allocated to the county falls well below what it should be. In fact, based on the current population, Kerry should’ve received at least 70 new recruits over the past four years.

“There is no doubt that Garda resources in Kerry are anywhere near where they should be. These figures merely support that reasoning. I will be following up with the Justice Minster to ensure that Kerry gets its fair share of resources when the next allocations are made”, concluded Deputy Brassil.